The Hollywood Foreign Press Association

On Monday night, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association gave out their awards for film and television work, the Golden Globes. But who are the Hollywood Foreign Press - and why do people care about who the HFPA thinks made the best movies and TV shows?

According to their website [http://www.hfpa.org/], the Association is made up of Los Angeles-based journalists from foriegn (i.e., non-United States) publications. Basically, it's a club. Maybe sixty-five years ago, a bunch of these foreign journalists were hanging around in some Los Angeles lounge or hotel bar smoking cigars and having drinks. After a few cognacs or whiskeys, or whatever, they think, "hmmm, let's give out movie awards. what a great idea!" Now, these journalists get together and throw a huge party once a year where they give out awards, and tell *the Academy* who should get the Oscars.

Doesn't this seem strange? The HFPA attracts so much attention and wields so much influence. But, it's just a journalists club. What makes them experts? They're not giving out journalism awards; and they're not necessarily entertainment reporters. It would be as if the staff of the Des Moines Register decided to give out the Golden Corn Ears.

Maybe a group of American journalists abroad should form a club and give out awards right before the Cannes Film Festival. There could be an American Expatriate Press Association that would give out Golden Apples (as in New York City being the Big Apple, and many American news sources are based in NYC).